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AAP
AAP
National
Cheryl Goodenough

Coroner to probe Qld bones-in-bag death

How Constance Watcho's bones ended up in a bag at the base of Brisbane cliffs remains a mystery. (AAP)

How the bones of a 36-year-old Aboriginal woman ended up in a duffle bag at the base of Brisbane cliffs more than three years ago remains a mystery to authorities.

Mother-of-10 Constance Watcho had no fixed home and was known to the community who slept rough, counsel assisting Sarah Lio-Willie told a pre-inquest conference on Tuesday.

She was a drug user and had been released on parole in November 2017.

Ms Watcho's brothers, from Cherbourg, reported her missing in February the following year as it was unusual for family not to hear from her for months.

In September Ms Watcho's decomposed bones were found, some in a bag and some alongside in long grass at the base of the Kangaroo Point cliffs in inner Brisbane.

The discovery - by a man who lived in a unit where Ms Watcho stayed before disappearing - was reported to police two days later.

Ms Lio-Willie said Ms Watcho's cause of death could not be determined due to the level of decomposition of the body.

Investigations found very little about Ms Watcho's last movements, but police learned she and partner Sam couch surfed at the Kangaroo Point unit after her release from custody.

Four days later Ms Watcho and Sam were seen leaving the unit, and she was "street-checked" by police at South Brisbane.

That was the last day she accessed her bank account.

Sam told police it was not unusual for Ms Watcho to return to her home in Cherbourg without telling him so he was not concerned about not hearing from her.

A $250,000 reward was offered, but "there are still no answers nor any new leads to help get to the truth about how Constance's body ended up in a duffle bag at the bottom of the Kangaroo Point cliffs", Ms Lio-Willie said.

Ms Watcho's death will be the subject of a five-day inquest before coroner Stephanie Gallagher in Brisbane from September 5.

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